Flowers for a Ghost
by phakno
Summary: /Sasuke&Sakura\ Her dad picked her up and carried her to the car while her outsourced mother picked at the used tissues in her purse. It was an odd predicament, dad hadn’t picked her up since she was two; four years ago.
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own Naruto._

[**Flowers for a Ghost**]

They promised her that she wouldn't live to see her eighteenth birthday. Her mother sat in the doctor's office for forty-five minutes; crying, but Sakura stayed in the children's area, playing with one of those beaded toys and tilting her adorable eyes up at the sound of her mom sobbing.

"What's wrong?"

Her dad picked her up and carried her to the car while her outsourced mother picked at the used tissues in her purse. It was an odd predicament, dad hadn't picked her up since she was two; four years ago.

...

She always knew that she was different, she just couldn't place _how_. They didn't live in the greatest neighborhood known to the world, nor did they live in the most beautiful house, but her parents could afford fancy dinners and late night movies. Her friends never found it strange though, even if Naruto was the only one who actually said anything about her lifestyle, they all shared a mutual understanding.

Especially every first and last Monday of each month; they brought her flowers, chocolates, jewelry, anything they could afford or re-gift.

"How's your day going Sakura?" They'd always ask, not that she really minded, but she didn't really desire their sympathy. Believe it or not, most of those presents ended up in the big cardboard box in the back of her closet.

She wasn't a fool, she knew she was dying, and she knew she didn't have much time left, why her parents continued to shelter her in the dark was a mystery to her. They never mentioned anything about her chemo or her pills, never talked about her wig, not even her ability to lose her blood so quickly. When she was young they used to just say: 'take your medicine to feel better' or 'we're going to the doctor's to help you' never really specifying what she needed help with and what was making her feel so terrible to being with. Sheltered like a withering flower.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn."

"Do you remember that pact we made when we were little?"

"Yeah, wasn't it the one where I promised to make you my bride and you promised to never leave me?"

She chuckled in return. "Mhm."

"Why do you ask, Sakura?"

"I'm going to have to break that pact."

...

Sasuke Uchiha, the two met when they were only four; she wouldn't share her crayons and he wouldn't share his tomato, they were locked for life. Growing up in the same school district with the same friends and the same obnoxious drive to be better really benefited to their relationship once Sasuke balled up and asked her to be his; and she couldn't refuse.

He knew like the rest of them, his way of showing his concern wasn't through bullying her local enemies or giving her gifts whenever she went in for another appointment; unlike her other friends. Instead, Sasuke walked her home every day and held her hand in public, cherishing her with butterfly kisses when they were alone and spending almost every weekend watching a movie with her. His time was his dedication and she loved it more than anything.

Their bond wasn't worth a double take, they didn't fight with each other because she was bored and he was horny; they grew up together, they were used to each other's company and Kami knows how long they've sheltered feelings for each other. Even if she had to put up with the harassment from his followers, she'd dive to the bottom of the ocean for him; and he would do the same.

...

"Okay everyone, when she walks in just point and laugh!" Karin stood on her chair and cupped her hands around her mouth, grinning like mad once she realized that Kakashi-sensei would be late to class. They were big kids, they could take care of themselves for fifteen minutes; or, so they thought.

That girl wasn't anything but trouble. She had it out for the pink-haired Haruno since grade school, her accusation fully being: 'she stole my Sasuke-kun', but Sakura didn't mind, she was used to it. Unfortunately, Karin was getting, dare I say it, wittier, using her sensei's tardiness to make a fool out of Sakura and use the rest of the class as her trained hog-monkeys to go along with her foolish plan.

A giggle escaped Ino as she stepped through the threshold, a grinning Sakura and tired Sasuke two steps behind. The blonde made her entrance and waited for her friend to step in only to gasp once the general group of students started laughing. She shot her eyes to the crowd and looked sick to her stomach; they were leaning forward in their seats and indulging in their forced hysteria.

She looked back at Sakura and watched a tear slip down her cheek, she couldn't figure out why they were doing this or why they would even want to. Of course, Sakura covered her forehead and tugged on her uniform, backing up into Sasuke and dropping her books to dash out the door; her boyfriend right on her heel.

Ino was shocked; nobody deserved that, _especially _Sakura Haruno. Her blue orbs glared at her classmates, watching them clap with each other and holler at the reaction they earned. She narrowed her gaze on Karin, that girl with the imaginary trophy. An extremely un-ladylike snarl escaped her lips as she pushed her way through the desks to meet the redhead still seated and cheering for herself.

"All right, that's it!" Ino grabbed the girl's shoulder and spun her around while wielding a fist back and slamming it right into Karin's jaw.

The room stopped immediately.

"Who's next!" Ino faced them all, ignoring Karin's whimpers from the tiled floor, her eyes were fierce and her fists clenched.

...

Sakura didn't go to school; she spent her time lying in bed and staring at the ceiling or her small television. She tuned out the world for a day and used her focus to place an imaginary wall between humans and cancer victims. The wall made her lonely, sad even, but there was no doubt a wall; like the four walls that kept her room stable or the ones that kept her house separated from the air outside.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

She smiled to herself and lifted up off her bed, knowing full well that it wasn't the neighbor's cat tapping at her window. She unlocked it and forced her exhausted body back to her mattress where she awaited the hands of her savior to encircle her body.

"Why aren't you in school, Sasuke-kun?"

His arms wrapped around her stomach and one leg rested atop of hers, hot breath reached her earlobe as he thought it necessary to whisper instead of talk. "I heard you had a bad day, thought I'd come and make it better."

"Arigato, Sasuke-kun." There may be a wall between them, but he could always reach through to her.

...

It's her 17th birthday and she doesn't feel like celebrating. But she's up for a group's company, maybe four people; even though she invites six.

Hinata brings a platter of pink-frosted cupcakes and tries to hold Naruto down long enough to give them to Sakura. Ino has her own collection of presents; all of them wrapped up in pink tissue paper and delicately placed in gift bags. Shikamaru didn't have anything in his hands, but she could see the square shape popping out of his pocket and she smiles at his kindness. Ten Ten grips a tightly wrapped box with a pink bow sticking to the top, she doesn't want Sakura to hold it yet, it'll ruin the surprise. Sasuke greeted her with a hug and claimed that as his gift, but both of them know well enough that he's kidding.

She couldn't find her mom, but at the same time she knew exactly where she was; the downstairs bathroom, crying her eyes out while dad rubbed her back and tried his best not to be sucked in too. They had a year left.

_Cough. Cough. Inhale. Cough._

"Sakura?"

"What's that?"

"Sakura?"

"Do you need a tissue?"

"Sakura?"

"You're bleeding!"

"Sakura!"

She was already off the floor and in the bathroom. Ino frowned and watched Sasuke silently get up to follow. Hinata looked down to her hands, glad that they weren't peppered with blood. Naruto, who was _so _ready to eat the last cupcake, put it back and left it for the birthday girl while Ten Ten and Shikamaru stared at the red drop on the floor; they didn't want to move.

Soft footsteps brought them back to the modern and they watched Sasuke trudge back to them. Sakura's pale, dainty arms were wrapped around his neck and she was trailing softly behind him.

"Sakura, are you o—"

"I'm fine."

They didn't want to tell her that they caught her lie.

"Present time!" Both blondes bounced into the corner of six separate gifts, each grabbing their own and, based off of their exciting anxiousness, practically threw them at the pink haired birthday girl.

"Open mine first!" Ino shouted from her left.

"No. Open _mine _first!" Once the words left his mouth, Hinata slapped his shoulder.

"Nope, mine's better. So it deserves to be opened _first_!" The blue-eyed beauty shot back with equal flavor.

Within their heated debate, neither realized the shadow man get up and pull his gift from his pocket and plop it down between the feuding kids. Once it hit ground the two of them shot wide-eyed stares at his towering figure and watched him turn back to his seat while Sakura eagerly tore at the light red wrapping paper.

Her gasp grabbed their attention.

"Shikamaru, it's beautiful!"Sasuke peeked from behind her to see a small journal littered with lyrics and musing and scribbles. Each page was filled with a picture, all assorted in cut outs and snippets; progressing their childhood memories into a scrapbook that withstood the brutality of age.

She could see Shika's smile in the dark.

_Gasp! _"Look at this one!" She squealed and grabbed Sasuke's hand from her waist, using his fingers to trace the small square picture taped to the journal's line paper. It was a snapshot of the whole group; they were kids then, just barely entering the elementary. Sakura was next to Ino who held hands with Hinata who was blushing with Naruto wrapping his arm around her shoulders who's other arm was rustling Sasuke's hair who was glaring and crossing his arms while, to the left of him, Shikamaru looked exactly the same and Choji stood next to him stuffing his face in front of Shino and Kiba who couldn't look anymore disgusted with what they were witnessing.

"Awe!" Ino popped her head in, Naruto joining shortly after to gaze in remembrance at the shot.

"How did you do this?" The blonde shot a conniving glance at Shikamaru.

He shrugged in return, barely paying attention to Ino when Sakura was lighting up so exuberantly.

...

"Okay! My turn!" Naruto squealed with barely contained excitement.

"You're the last one Naruto, of course it's your turn." Ten Ten observantly pointed out, tilting her head in an awfully adorable manner.

Sakura ignored the ignorance and ripped at the small package in her tiny hands, feeling Sasuke lean in from behind her and rest his chin on her shoulder.

_Gasp! _"Oh my—"

Ten Ten, who was incidentally sipping on a soda, spit the liquid out into a falling mist. Ino covered her mouth to hold in her chuckles, grinning beneath the skin. Shikamaru chuckled heartedly, and Hinata's jaw fell slack against the unpredictable behavior of her boyfriend who could not stop the infamous grin from taking over his lips.

Sakura's cheeks looked like that vegetable her boyfriend loved to eat, red as ever. Speaking of Sasuke, he knew his dear Haruno couldn't see him; her eyes were glazed over in mild embarrassment as she re-read the product's name and looked extra hard at the particular flavor. _Hmmm…Orange in the Tropics? Smirk. _

"N-Naruto!" Sakura tried her best to threaten him, but stuttered instead. Hinata took the liberty of whacking him across the chest and narrowing her violet daggers on him.

"Oi! I'm just looking out for you guys! I'm too young to be an uncle!"

Sasuke lifted his head up and loosened his grip on Sakura to snap back at Naruto. "Hn. Whoever insinuated that you would be an uncle to our children, Dobe?"

"Oh c'mon. You can't have kids and _not _make me an uncle." Naruto snickered with a devious twinkle in cerulean eyes.

"Believe me," his warm arms wrapped around her stomach again and he pulled her closer to his chest, almost allowing her to forget about the birthday token in her grasp, "when we have kids, you will _barely _be involved with their lives."

"Awe! Teme!"

Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Ten Ten simultaneously froze with anticipation; humbly recalling exactly what Sasuke had said.

_When._

...

The party ended at midnight. What started as a 'hang out' turned into an all out sleepover. Mrs. Haruno walked around the slumbering teens and picked at the chip bags and wrapping paper; Ino and Ten Ten shared the cushioned window sill, Shikamaru leaned against the wall, Naruto and Hinata on the floor, and Sasuke accompanied Sakura on her bed. It was a busied sight to take in.

With pride, she took a leisurely minute to look around at her well illustrated tidiness and daring to drift her eyes to her daughter's stacked gifts. There lay a journal of some sort, three or four sets of clothes, and a pair of headphones; a few movies, and a circular frame with a childhood picture in the middle. A ghost of a smile etched across her face when she caught her daughter's grin. Even in her sleep, she was radiant. Forgetting her troubles in exchange for her own dreamscape where she didn't have to live with such an impending burden.

A tear almost slipped out of her eye and she reminded herself to hurriedly make her way out of there. Yet, just before she shut the door softly, she watched Sasuke turn to face Sakura on her bed and wrap his arm around her.

...

"Haruno, Sakura?"

"She's not here sensei."

Kakashi exposed a depressing expression at his lips before continuing with the rest of the 'H's in roll call. Even during his lesson, his eyes continuously drifted back to her empty seat, afraid of his imagination replacing its hollow contour with a ghost of the girl; he imagined her rapidly writing notes.

His hand moved without his mind to control it and his class noted with no diligence to do so. His mind was too occupied by that girl; that sick, sick girl. A small sense of fear gathered in the depths of his stomach once he considered the probability that she will not return the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that, and the da—

_Ring!_

His white piece of chalk fell to the floor as he carelessly allowed time to slip by so quickly. He watched his students hurriedly get up and shuffle out of the room with books in hand, hungry for their next class to end the school day.

"Uchiha." The kid was the last one out, finding his movements too sluggish to care about his tardiness; his eyes lifted to meet his sensei, almost mirroring each other's obvious assumptions. "How is she?"

_Sigh. _"I don't know."

"Is she—"

"I don't know."

"When will you find out?"

"After school, I'll make sure she's home."

"Good." Before his student could make an appropriate exit, Kakashi was pulling a snippet of paper from his pocket and scribbling something on it before promptly giving it to Sasuke. "Here, let me know if she's alright."

The prodigy nodded and turned to walk away; nothing else was said between the two.

...

_Pant. Pant. Pant._

Sasuke ran blindly down the streets of Konoha, finding refuge in a sight far, far away in a home where she should be. Passing a mailbox, he was almost hit by a biker, both of them stopping suddenly to avoid the incident.

"Watch it, kid."

The Uchiha's glare had him scampering down the block with barely acquired petal skills.

A soft breeze picked up and brushed his hair from his face, chilling the sweat dripping down his cheek and cooling the skin beneath his uniform shirt. He didn't know how to interpret the gentle disturbance; whether it was good or bad for her sake.

_Please, please be okay._

Three blocks to go; his backpack weighed him down heavily, so he dropped it, leaving his homework papers to flutter in the wind and fall victim to puddles somewhere far off. His shoes were now coated in water, the drizzle had ceased, but the grounds were soaked.

When he was a child, his mother used to tell him that rain came from the Universe and its habit to weep for the lost. 'When another has died, Kami will cry and it will rain.' He relived the story momentarily, afraid that the world was crying for her.

"Sakura!" Her house came into view, the wine colored door, a full mailbox, no cars in the street; nobody looked to be home.

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

"Sakura!"

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

"Sakura!"

_Bang. Bang. B—_

"Wah!" She dodged the hit he aimed for the door and fell to the floor in the process. "Sasuke-kun?" Worried green eyes darted to his own, tilting her head in silent question as to his presence.

"Sakura…" His breathlessness eased out heavily once he realized that she was alright and not stuck in a morgue somewhere. "You're okay." One hand reached out to grab her and pull her lithe body to her feet.

"Sasuke-kun." Once her fragile hand reached his cheek he looked into her eyes. "What's wrong?"

He warded off the tears ready to fall. He was just so _relieved._

...

"Hey."

"Uchiha?"

"She's fine, just didn't feel well this morning."

"Good."

"Arigato, Sensei."

"Why?"

"For caring."

...

"You didn't have to run all the way over here Sasuke-kun. If anything were to happen to me you would be one of the first people notified." She awaited his presence on the sofa with her persistent eyes and her wavering glances of concern.

He scoffed in return, waddling over in her dad's used clothes while his hummed in the dryer, and gave her the most incredulous look he could muster.

"Oh, don't look at me like that." She snatched the bowl of burnt popcorn from his hand and turned her eyes to the television. Her worry for his well being was thinking and talking for her, making _him _look bad for jogging to her house to make sure she didn't _die_, in the rain.

"Sakura…"

"If you get sick," emerald daggers glared at him, "I'm going to punch you in the face."

"Hn." He grabbed her free wrist and yanked her towards him. Her giggle was all he wanted to hear and he got it.

She deserted her snack for his lips and devoured them vigorously. "Sasuke-ku—" Her antsy fingers crept through his locks and his wrapped around her waist.

"Shut up, Sakura." He growled against her lips and she found it hilarious.

Eagar hands trickled down her sides and under her shirt to her stomach that set off the greatest grin he'd ever imagined. Taking advantage of their lip break, his kisses rocketed down her neck and to her collarbone. As she arched her back towards him, he could feel her chest rub against his; it was an earthquake unfolded.

Her reactions uncovered her weak spot and he took complete advantage of that; peppering hickeys all over her naked skin.

"Mm." Her legs followed instinct and wrapped tightly around his waist, a vice grip for a strong woman, her fingers raked through his hair, making that experience alone leisure enough. She was swarmed by his lips, overwhelmed by his hands, and losing to his urges.

She never wanted this to end.

_Chuckle._

She'd heard his laugh many times before, alone of course, but she would never grow tired of it. She could hear it every minute of every day and she would love it all the more. Dark and enchanting, like his scent, and his eyes, maybe his heart too, but it was all hers. His laugh, his musk, his looks, and his love.

His breath was at her ear now, licking her taste like a child with a lollipop. He was quenching his thirst for her, and she was performing the same.

"Sasuke…" She had been a patient girl her whole life, now was her chance to get what she wanted from someone who wanted her and she wanted it _now. _Her gentle hands squeezed his arms, encouraging him further into their activity.

He complied, tearing her top at the bottom with barely controlled hands; his lips never left hers.

Their passion wasn't something to mess with; fierce like the two teens, their lip lock could melt the ice caps. It could persuade Sakura's patience, it could calm down Naruto, it could confuse Hinata, it could rattle Ino, it could shatter Ten Ten, it could enlighten Shikamaru, and it could collapse Sasuke. A mutual liking wasn't shared between the two when they promised a kiss; it was love.

"Aaa—" His intent was to pleasure her, selfishly. One hand squeezed her breast while his mouth hungrily attacked her other. She was pushing up towards him, giving him all of her with a sharp arch of her spine. The frequency of his lips and hands worked her up to the point that she needed _more_.

Her yank on his hair pulled him up towards her lips so she could have her wicked way with him once again. Tongues locked in a dominating war a mere five seconds later; she hoped he would understand what she wanted.

"Eek!" They broke apart with a sudden yelp, yet, she could barely comprehend when she made the noise or how; she could remember her name much less. His fingers had reached under her micro shorts and he was hurriedly thrusting two fingers into her warmth.

"S-Sasuke-ku—"

Things were escalating pretty quickly and he couldn't figure out why. Maybe it was his personal need, yet with all those adorable noises she was making, he highly doubted that the _need_ was all him. Maybe it was her recent birthday, she was a woman now, and she deserved to be treated like one. Maybe it was time and her school absence uncovered his realization that she was dying; he hadn't done half the things he wanted to yet.

But neither had she.

...

It had been three hours since Sasuke arrived, three hours and fifteen minutes since school was released, and two hours and forty-five minutes since their _celebration_. The drapes were closed off, her door was shut tight, and she was still sleeping.

After eternally claiming her on her own living room couch, Sasuke gently carried his prize to her room. He had been watching her sleep for awhile now, he couldn't get a wink with his greatest effort; he was too ecstatic for that.

Instead, the boy trailed his fingers into her hair and listened to the pitter patter of rain on the window. He could stare at her for hours, and he hoped her to be breathing as opposed to not.

"Nnnn—" He smirked as she tossed and turned beneath the sheet; her groan of pain was almost satisfying. "Kami, what did you do to me Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn." His hand caressed her cheek, he was addicted to her skin; too deep to quit now. "How do you feel?"

"Sore." Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at the sight of him.

He didn't look any less tired.

...

"Sasuke?" Mikoto's tone was light and benign, as were her eyes when she watched her son exit the dining room without touching a morsel of food on his plate.

"Hn." He continued to walk out of the room, grabbing his jacket from the hallway closet with full intentions to leave his home all together.

"Where do you think you're going?" But Fugaku's stern voice halted his steps, and he barely resisted the urge to turn around and glance at the man; he knew his father wasn't looking anywhere but his food, as if everything else wasn't worth his attention.

"Sakura's."

"Haven't you been over there enough?"

"Fuga—" Mikoto began just as gentle as before.

"What are you saying?" Sasuke shrugged her attempt off and went straight for the kill.

The man stopped pushing his food around and set down his fork, folding his fingers together beneath his chin and heaving a heavy sigh. He always had trouble saying something he'd regret later on.

"I don't want you seeing her as often as you do."

Had he been watching his son he would've seen his white knuckles clenching his coat in a tight grasp.

"Fugaku!" His wife was too kind-hearted to threaten him properly, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try. But, he heard her voice through deaf ears, he was waiting for his son's reaction instead; half expecting a hit to the jaw and half expecting a riot, yet his eyes shot open when the front door slammed shut and Sasuke was nowhere to be found.

...

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"Coming!" Two weightless feet carried a weightless body to the sliding door, knowing full well who awaited her on the other side. "Oh! Sasuke! Come on in." Mrs. Haruno stepped aside and allowed him entrance. "Have you eaten, dear?"

"Yeah, I ate before I left." He lied through his perfectly white teeth.

She smiled as he spoke out of his monosyllable-language. "Good."

"Sasuke-kun!" He barely had time to turn left when a flash of pink rammed into his chest. His arms made a trail around her waist as a genuine smile graced his lips.

"Ready?" He asked so innocently, like he was speaking to a cat. When she nodded her bubblegum hair bounced up and down to accompany her excitement.

...

"What's bothering you?" Sakura's voice cut though the silence like a child in the middle of the night. She called him out so quickly, he never saw it coming. But he couldn't really say he didn't assume her worry, even in his worst of days, she could read him like a book.

"Nothing."He shrugged off her concern and continued walking down the park trail, almost completely blocking out the problem until he felt her squeeze his hand.

"C'mon Sasuke-kun." As he looked down to her pleading orbs he suddenly wished he hadn't. "You can tell me."

"Hn." The feet he had referred to his whole life quickly quit on him for a cheap shot at sympathy. "My father."

She stopped with him and pulled his arm closer to her, begging, pleading for him to look away from the ground. In moments of desperation the human spirit finds the ground a much more soothing amenity than any other human contact. She didn't want him to fall into that black hole. "What did he do?"

She never expected his response.

"He doesn't want me to see you as often as I do." He could feel her grip fade and he quickly snatched it in his own and pulled her lithe fingers to his lips just to place little chaste pecks to her smooth skin. She blushed at this, suddenly aware of all the attention his wicked eyes were giving her.

"W-What did you say?"

"Nothing." He halted his kisses and pulled her closer by hostage of her hand. Onyx eyes bore into her emeralds, such a bittersweet enchantment of possession. "I left."

"But, Sasuke-ku-!" He silenced her with a kiss; rendering her speechless while his tongue invaded her mouth much to her pleasure. One of his hands pressed against the back of her neck and pushed her harder against his lips. She knew damn well that he wasn't going back home for awhile, he would wander the streets, maybe inhabit a friend's pad, but return with the same stubbornness as his unrelenting father, she didn't approve of it and he was willing to convey how much she was worth to him with this single-whim action. His hands disappeared from her neck to trail down her arms and splayed playfully at her hips. Without a second's hesitation, he hugged her body close, pushing her against his chiseled abdomen and tightened chest.

They broke with a moan, from her of course; her eyes glazed over in appreciation while his reflected that same old smugness. She almost forgot about their prior topic before his trained lips attacked hers; _almost. _

"Sasuke-kun," she took a step back to survey his face, a weary wonderment in her apple green eyes, "you can't runaway every time your father says something you don't agree with."

"Hn." He pouted in the slightest and briskly turned his head away.

"Heh, Sasuke-kun." Her poignant fingers pulled him back to look at her. "I understand that what he said may have upset you, but you can't destroy your relationship with him over something that small."

"_Relationship? _What relationship?" He pulled her hand away from his face and laced his fingers with hers. "Ever since I was born he's seen me as nothing more than a future Heir to his company. He says these things to annoy me and push my buttons just so he can evaluate my reactions to pressure." He paused to stare at her confused face, almost grinning at the sight. "I'm not a son to him, Sakura, I'm just another future employee."

"Well," her frustration leaked through her feet stomping temperamentally against the ground, "can't you just talk to him?"

"Why do you want this to work so badly?"

"Because I don't want to be the one to break it! I love you Sasuke-kun, really, I do, but I don't want to come between you and your father." She hugged him close to hide her tears in his jacket. "When I'm gone, who will comfort you? Who will you runaway for then?"

He sighed something heavy and looked down to the top of her head. Contemplating his next steps in making her happy; it's all he ever wanted to do.

"Alright, I'll talk to him." She perked up at this and lifted her head off of his chest, grinning like a mad man. "But _after _a day or two, I can't go back there now."

Sakura stood on her toes to plant a kiss at his lips and pulled back quick enough to drag him down the rest of the park's path.

...

"Sasuke-kun?" They walked hand in hand around the visual endearment; it was their plan for the day; go to the park and never leave.

"Hn?"

"Do you have a tissue?" He noticed the trail of blood running from her nose to her lips.

"Yeah." He reached for the pack in his pocket, always on the ready to grant her all the tissue she wanted.

"T-thanks." A shaky hand reached out to wipe away the access liquid and she threw her head forward. Dogs and owners walked by without a second glance to the girl with a nosebleed. She wasn't anything abnormal to them. They couldn't see her disease sinking deeper than skin.

"Sakura," he reached out to hold her waist, feeling her body tremble beneath his touch, "you're shaking."

_Cough. Cough. Cough._

"Sakura?"

She held up her hand and shook her head, the dark red tissue still present at her lips and her raspy throat still throwing out coughs.

"Sakura!"

_Cough. Cough. Cough._

...

"Sasuke?"

"I'm here, you don't have to yell."

"Sasuke, what happened? Is she alright?"

"Her physical condition's getting worse; they've checked her into the hospital for the night." He almost disappeared up the steps, escaping his family from their sympathy.

"What ward is she in?" A deep voice cut off his movements once again. The déjà vu found Sasuke stopping in his tracks once again for the man to say something else and snap his feelings in half.

Fugaku always had that knack. Hating the suffering then making up for it later with a few words of kindness, presentably it seemed the only way he could express his feelings.

"Intensive Care."

"Hm. Well, with her safely tucked in a hospital cot, you might have a chance to look over those college choices I've sent to your room."

Sasuke gripped the banister so tight he thought it might shatter. "I'm staying the night elsewhere. And I refuse all of your choices." He continued with his steps. One, two, th—

"Get back here Uchiha."

-ree.

"Disobey me once again and you won't be going to college at all."

The cool façade didn't break like the thought it would, Fugaku looked calm as ever. "Does it even matter? We all know you'll get me on the board or even CEO within my first year of employment. You'll probably pay off the college to pass me with flying colors too, even if I'm purposely screwing up. Poor little Uchiha can't hold up his own because daddy pays for everything." He released his hold on the cherry-wood railing, gaining just enough sanity to calm down. "I'm not going to your college and I'm not running your company."

"Oh. I see; we're making decisions now?" Fugaku slyly remarked.

"Yes. I don't want your money, I don't want your home, I don't want your luxury and I certainly don't want your heart!" Fugaku wouldn't speak; he knew there was more to it. "You can't even allow me to see the woman I love! How do you expect me to aspire to _your _future?" He closed his eyes before clenching his teeth and spitting out the last of his words. "I want one of my own."

"The woman you-" Mikoto gasped and covered her mouth while Fugaku looked ready to murder.

"The woman you _what_?" His irritation settled at the back of his throat and tossed out his words like a deck of cards. He stood from his chair.

"Hn." Sasuke turned to continue his path up the stairs in silence.

Mikoto moved once she heard his door shut gently. Her eyes narrowed at her husband and the towel rag she was previously using to wipe down her counters was now used to whip Fugaku with.

"Oi! Easy Mikoto!"

"What was all of that for?" She hissed. "You know he doesn't want this, why do you continue to push him into doing something he doesn't want?" She stopped hitting him when his hand reached up to grab her wrist.

"Heh," she widened her eyes at his chuckle, "I had to get it out of him somehow."

She was speechless.

...

INSPIRATION:  
'Flowers for a Ghost' [Thriving Ivory]  
'Afraid This Time' [Celldweller]  
I'm actually a little excited about this!  
I FINALLY got some rated M in there!  
Lime at the least.  
I'm not ready to take on the big lemon.  
& trust me, if I added in the whole scene, it would've taken away from the moral of it all.  
Now, now, NOW: I need some opinions!  
**Please review!**  
This will be a two-shot.  
Maybe a three-shot.  
But I'm not done with it yet.

Oh! Heads up: the ending of this chapter took place in the summer.  
Somehow, I just couldn't fit it in there naturally.  
:D

whitexgodess


	2. Chapter 2

[**Flowers for a Ghost**]

A burst of the setting sun broke through the dirt on the windows and grazed across Sakura's cheek; she turned over to escape it.

"Sakura."

"Hmm?"

"We're going home and grab some of your clothes." Her mother brushed aside some of her pink tresses and lightly kissed her forehead. "Do you want me to bring you anything in particular?"

She closed her eyes and nodded; her body was exhausted. "The book."

"Book?"

"My birthday book, mom. My memories."

…

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"I'm not here."

The door opened nonetheless.

"I said I'm n—"

"—not here. I heard, you little brat." Itachi threw a book in his direction and narrowed his eyes. "Now quit moping and come with me." He tossed his brother a jacket and turned to leave.

Sasuke slowly moved from his pouting perch and stood from his bed, not moving an inch. "Why? Where are we going?"

Itachi smirked.

"The hospital."

…

"Naruto?"

"Hinata? What's wrong?" He could hear her sniffling in her silence. "Hinata."

Despite his inability to see her, he could tell what she was doing; whipping her violet tresses back and forth in feeble attempts to stop her tears, muffling her mouth from the cries she desired to release.

"Hinata. Talk to me, what's wrong?" He spoke slow and easy, the only step to calm her down.

"Sakura's in the hospital."

_Klunk._

"Naruto?"

_Sorry, the number you have reached is not in service at this time. Please check the number or try and call again._

…

"C'mon Uchiha, I don't have all day."

"Hn. Don't use _our _last name as an insult, and how am I supposed to get in there? Visiting hours are over." He pointed to the sign just outside the lobby that clearly stated the time of day and the times available to visitors. The wave of his hand made him look like a child, the size of his eyes did too, and all Itachi found himself doing at a time like this, and a place so sacred, was laugh.

"Hn." Sasuke almost turned around to leave if his idiot brother didn't start moving. "Answer me."

_Chuckle._

"Do you not remember my medical associate, Kisame, Uchiha?"

"Stop saying that, and yeah, how could I forget that cue ball-ACK!"

Itachi immediately reacted and pinched Sasuke's ear. "Children shouldn't use such mean words. Now keep your musings to yourself or go home without seeing your precious blossom." He loosened his grip and continued in a northern direction, ignoring the lack of footsteps still behind that were making up for lost pride.

"Hn."

"I said I don't have all day Uchiha." Itachi called over his shoulder, smirking sadistically.

"Hn." But the youngest jogged to catch up with him nonetheless. "Why are you doing this? What's in it for you?"

_Sigh._

"You can't think of me as entirely heartless." He lifted his pointer finger to poke Sasuke's cheek, earning a groan of embarrassment. "I see how much you care about her. I'm not blind little brother." In the silence of the sanctuary, a nurse passed by, bowing while moving and smiling at the gentlemen. She knew the Uchiha's well enough not to bother them; their family had donated an extreme amount of money to the hospital's local cancer foundation last year. And her smile was all she could offer in return.

_Ding._

The elevator doors slid open just as Itachi declared his heart to Sasuke. "Besides, I think I like her more than I like you."

"Bastard."

…

"Let me in! ACK-!" Naruto shouted, shoving his hands in the air and trying his best to break through the barrier before him. Two abnormally large male nurses blocked the automatic doors with their arms crossed and their lips taunt. They weren't moving.

"No!" A short petite woman with a clipboard marched around the late night workers and shoved her pointer finger in Naruto's space, effectively halting his squirming and screaming. "Visiting hours are over! People are _trying_ to rest!" She bit out. "Now if you don't shut up I will shove this pen," her strong fingers held it up in a vice grip while her eyes narrowed with each word, "so far down your throat that every time you take a breath it'll have to tip-toe past my ink. Understand?"

"Awe, c'mon! I just wanted to see my friend!" Physical brutality didn't work, so the sun-kissed boy mustered up the saddest frown and the saddest tears.

"Too bad kid, you'll have to come back tomorrow." But the woman wouldn't budge; she kept her feet planted firmly and her eyes hard and dark. She was used to broken hearts like his and she wasn't allowing room for pity to access her duties as head nurse. No matter how bad she really felt.

Naruto took a step back, balancing his chances of making it out alive if he tried to barge through again. But he wasn't going to take that chance, with an idea in mind the boy exited through the automatic sliding doors and into the cool night.

…

_Eerr_.

"Hn. I told you, she's aslee—"

"Pssh, no she's not, look at her eyes! She's faking."

"Shut up Itachi!"

_Click._

A soft light flooded the walls with a warm essence. "Sasuke-kun?" The boys halted their bickering and simultaneously glanced at the timid girl. One of her fragile hands was gripping the bed sheet while the other steadied that birthday gift on her stomach. "Sasuke-kun." She stared at him, dead on.

"Awe, she calls you Sasuke-k-ugh!" Said male pushed his older brother into the other side of the threshold and made his walk to Sakura much more dignified than his childish mindset.

The creases on her forehead made her look worried and that alone made him smirk. She'd always feel bad for the person on the other side of the glass despite her personal crisis. "Sasuke-kun, what are you doing here?"

He leaned down, knowing full well that his brother was watching, and brushed her chin with his fingers, plating a long and emphasized kiss to her lips. While her eyes were closed he nuzzled the spot beneath her ear a whispered a leisurely: "Hey."

_Click. _

Sharp emeralds dashed to the door where Itachi was last seen and set into a spell of puzzlement when he was no longer there. "Where did he—"

"Move over." The voice from above forced her eyes back to the sight of onyx, confused as ever.

"'Eh?"

"Move over." When she didn't budge he lightly coughed and looked away. "Please."

"Heh, you came here for a sleepover didn't you?" He blushed at her cocky smirk and her wily accuracy. But she took mercy and scooted over, pulling back the sheets and allowing him room to lie down.

He complied, almost nervously, and accompanied the cherry blossom beneath the covers. Despite his slow movements she couldn't cover her eagerness for his warmth. The stoic whiteness of this place just didn't fit against her skin, he, on the other hand, did.

The instant he hit the mattress was the instant she wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his chest. She loved his scent, it may have been some overpaid, manufactured cologne, but she loved it because _he _wore it.

_Pinch._

"Ow! Sakura!"

"Sorry," she snuggled closer, muffling her voice, "just making sure you're real."

…

"Ow! Sakura!"

_Gasp!_

Naruto looked up and over his hand to catch a glimpse through the window he was aiming to open. No luck, the light was off and it was silent leaving no more hints for poor Naruto.

"Ugh!" His grip on the window sill slipped and one hand fell to the exposure of four floors of brick; climbing up the hospital wall: not the best idea in the world.

_Chuckle._

He _almost _endured whiplash from that one. Inside the window of which he was attempting to break in came laughter, too deep to be Sakura's in fact. A wave of nostalgia hit him like a single brick. He remembered when Sasuke used to laugh, when he used to smile and play 'Cops and Robbers'. When they used to skip rocks and stand at the highest tower in the city. Then that Tsunade-sama would come out and bust their heads in for being up there.

_Frown._

What started out as a simple remembrance had reminded Naruto of all the wretched things he had accomplished as a youth and unfortunately distracting his mind from his present height and his slipping hand!

"Yao!" Left and right hands clipped together to pull himself up onto the balcony, Jiraiya-sensei did always say he had great upper strength. While his legs flailed in the open air, his head and chest made it safely over the railing. "Oi." He mumbled some mild incoherence as to why he even tried that in the first place.

But looking through the glass granted a gentle answer.

…

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Nnn." Sakura lazily drawled. "Sasuke-kun."

"Hn?"

"Stop tapping please."

"Hn." He was too lazy to remove his blame and too lazy to comprehend who the actual culprit was.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

She grabbed a fist-full of his shirt and frowned with her eyes closed. "Sasuke-kun."

"Hn?"

"Stop." There wasn't room for whining when she was tired.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Grrr—" She was out of her sweet and cuddly mind set, her body was up and she reached over to flip on the lamp. If she wasn't sleeping, neither was he. "Ah!" Fortunately, her hand never made it to the switch, but her eyes hit the window dead on.

Sasuke shot up, still mildly hazy, and yanked her body back against his own, his eyes intently focused on the silhouette outside. Meanwhile, Sakura tilted her head and squinted at the shape; she knew it.

"What the f—" She flipped the lamp on and immediately relaxed. "Naruto!" She attempted to pull out of Sasuke's grip and let him in, but the man wouldn't budge. "Sasuke-kun…"

"Leave him." Naruto could hear everything and almost cried at Sasuke's words.

She shot the blonde a hot-tempered glare. "As much as I'd love to," yet her tone switched to something softer for her Sasuke-kun, "you know he won't go away until I do."

"Hn." He relaxed and Sakura shot off the bed to open the latch and let their obnoxious friend in.

"Oi, thanks Sakura-chan, I thought I would never ma—OW!" When she hit him repeatedly, he thought it necessary to halt his words and cower to the tiled floor. "Sakura-chan!"

"That's for scaring the shit out of me." She crossed her arms and waited for him to stand up before hitting him on the head, forcing him to the ground again. "And that's for scaring the shit out of Hinata! I know you didn't tell her you were coming here, which, F.Y.I, if you had told her, she would have gotten you in! She's head of the summer internship you annoying baka!"

He winced and mumbled something while looking at her feet. "Oh damn. Sorry Sakura-chan…"

"Hmph!" Said woman turned and stomped her way back to bed, crawling under the sheets once again and sitting up against the pillow patiently.

"But, I only came so I could make sure you were okay!"

"Hn. Don't take it too hard Dobe, she hits you because she cares. Besides, did you really think I wouldn't already be here?" Sasuke lazily rubbed the bridge of his nose and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, easing the anger out of her stature.

"Oh! Heh, heh." Naruto scratched at his neck and shrugged off his embarrassment while Sakura kept her eyes locked on him and Sasuke leaned on her shoulder. "I'll just, erm, leave now."

"Goodnight Naruto."

"Later, Dobe."

"Teme, Sakura-chan." The blonde nodded before making his ironically silent exit.

_Sigh._

"You know he only cares." His callous fingers laced through hers.

"Yeah, I know. I just don't want him to care as much as he does. I mean, when I'm gone what will settle his c—" The hand at her neck and the lips on her own and the tongue in her mouth stopped her dead on. She knew what he would say before he said it; he always used this to distract her. "Sas-" kiss, "-uke-" kiss, "-kun."

His voice broke their lips apart and his head rested against hers. "What did I say about talking like that?" He was scolding her, but acting awfully gentle about it.

"Right, right." She nodded lazily, hinting at her exhausted state.

"Hn. Sleep." He reached over her and turned off the light, lying back down and pulling her warm body close to him once again. She giggled lightly at his bohemian act but cuddled next to him nonetheless.

"Goodnight Sasuke-kun." She felt him press his lips to her head in response and felt his grip tighten around her waist. She used to never see him as a cuddler, but that was beside the point; with Naruto's big distraction out of the way, and Sasuke's body next to her own, Sakura settled comfortably into her dark Never-land.

…

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"Coming!" Ten Ten rushed across the foyer to hastily tear the front door open and settle the impatience on the other side. "Ino?" The midnight wind rushed through the blonde's hair and exposed her worn down make-up and flood of tears. "Ino, what's wrong?" The confused of the two grabbed the other's arm and led her into the warmth of the home.

They were seated on the living room couch within a matter of seconds.

"I-I've just been t-thinking lately…" Sobs wracked her body and stole her of her voice, now easing out in short, raspy bits; her infamous confidence had been replaced. "I-I love that girl so much Ten Ten," the tissue in her hand was placed beneath her nose, "I don't want to lose her!" Ino collapsed into her awaiting arms, allowing a soothing hand to rub ruthlessly at her back to calm her down and set her train of thought strait on track.

"We've all had these fits Ino," _sigh_, "you just have to remind yourself that Sakura is a fighter. She's stronger than you realize, believe me." Said girl sniffled into her sleeve, awaiting more comfort. "And nobody said she was going anywhere yet," Ten Ten closed her eyes and gave up the greatest support she could muster with dry eyes, "she's still here."

…

_Welcome home sweetie! I'm sorry we couldn't stay with you today, but we'll see you later. Cookies are on the counter and clean clothes in your drawers. Enjoy! _

_Love, Mom._

She sighed but gently crumbled up the snippet of paper and threw it away. She never liked her special treatment from them; never liked their sympathy either.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"I'm tired," she rubbed her eyes as she turned to glance at him on the couch; that mint-colored couch, "I'm going upstairs to take a nap."

Her back was her immediate defense, but he missed the glittering smile on her face when he turned off the television and followed her silently up the stairs.

…

"Teme!"

"Hn." Said man pulled his phone away from his ear at the sudden boom of Naruto's voice, he didn't want to wake his beauty. "What do you want?"

"Oi, how come I have to _want _something? Can't I just call to catch up?"

"No." A struggling voice almost made itself known before Sasuke continued. "We're not women, we don't _catch up _you fool. Now, what-do-you-want?" He bit out the last of it, seeing as asking questions wasn't legit for answers anymore.

"Where's Sakura-chan?"

"Sleeping."

"Oi." He muttered something that Sasuke couldn't comprehend, but went on without a tint of doubt in his voice. "How's she doing, Teme?"

"She's fine."

"Don't lie to me over the phone."

_Sigh. _"I'm not. She's _fine_."

"Great! Then when can we all see her?" The excitement was back again.

"Not now. I'll have to ask her when she wakes up." He hung up without an answer and turned off the device before throwing it silently to the floor. His head felt heavy, he rested it in his hands and ruffled his hair lightly before lifting his eyesight to that woman behind him; the one that he loved so much.

She was turned on her side, one hand under her pillow while the other rested across her abdomen. The shadows of her room left a peaceful impression on her soft features.

Sasuke smiled something warm before turning back to the walls that surrounded them, the ones that kept her safe from the world, the ones that were peppered with her blood. His pale fingers raised to stroke the red against the surface, he remembered the first time she woke up in a coughing fit, the red liquid dripping from her lips and tossed ruthlessly from her throat to her hand and her surroundings, he thought she was choking and she would've laughed had she not been running for a second box of tissue. Ever since her childhood, when she used her sheets to stop her bloody noses, she wanted to keep the fluid alive, she never allowed her parents to wash it off the walls.

"_If I'm going to accept this Sasuke, I'm going to have to get used to everything that comes with it." _

She didn't let it scare her, didn't let it ruin her day. It was a routine; she'd walk into her room, usually accompanied by him, and touch the patterns on her beige walls where traces of blood were.

He felt her shift behind him, the scratching of sheets was a distinct sound in his mind as her fingers skimmed across them and searched for his cool skin. "Sasuke-?" Her voice was soft and raspy, it beckoned to him, calling him and ordering him to lie down with her and wrap his warm arms around her small frame, demanding him to hold her close and never let go.

He couldn't help but comply.

...

"Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"I feel like doing something today."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Something with my friends."

"You know how much they miss you. I've been getting calls non-stop with your _friends_ requesting to speak to you."

"Awe! Why didn't you wake me up." He fixed her with one of his looks. "Okay, fine, but still, I want to do something."

"Like what?"

"Paint."

"Hm?"

"I want to paint Sasuke-kun."

"Paint what?"

"My walls. I want to paint over this struggle."

…

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto dropped his two buckets and threw her arms around her instantly. Nevermind the open door and the fall breeze, Sasuke scoffed at his idiocy and strode past the two with horribly hidden jealousy and slammed the front door shut. The blonde jumped at this and took his time unraveling his arms from Sakura, he couldn't help it, he missed her. "So! Sakura-chan. Why the sudden paint job?" He pointed to the paint buckets below, an almost adorable questioning look on his face.

The pinkette shrugged and bent down to retrieve one of the sets but her over-protective/extremely-sweet/slightly-irritating boyfriend did so instead. He fixed her with a look and she sighed before turning around and guiding the two to her room.

Ten Ten, Ino, and Hinata were awaiting the arrival of their supplies, each of them accompanied by goggles, assorted gloves, brushes, torn shirts and delicate smiles. Upon their entry, each girl jumped up with uncontainable amounts of joy and yanked a bucket away for themselves. Naruto scoffed at the sudden rudeness and Sakura giggled at the scene. Sasuke sighed something heavy and cracked open a window for better ventilation, not necessarily for him, but for that vixen that stole his heart. He could hear, and almost block out, Naruto's yelling. The dobe was waving his arms around in some sort of attempt to capture the moment as something precious. _Sigh. _

"Sasuke-kun?" He could feel her weak grip on his arm, he cringed. She used to possess such strength, such power, and now her hold was fading, her grasp was subsequent as was she. He forced himself to _not _think of such things, but how could he not when he was watching her wither away before him?

He turned to kiss her forehead before grasping her hand in his own and leading her to the paint buckets.

...

Unfortunately, this one was not as long as the 1st chapter.  
Nor as good.  
I think I'm losing my touch.  
Any-who, I have a perfectly good reason as to why I'm so damn late.  
College.  
College AND work.  
But still, I'm very glad to see that some of you guys like this, despite it's ability to SUCK.

I'd really, really, really, really love to t'ank:  
**Elyna Lore **& **juicykiwi** & **SasuSakuKawai **& **Immortalfantasylover **& **C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only **& **awesomedha **& **CrypticParchment **& **wolfrider93 **&** Reginashii **& **pockybandits89  
**Please forgive my typos!  
& seriously, you're all FanFiction celebrities to me & I am SO honored that you reviewed my -iffy story.

THANK YOU  
Last time.  
Promise.

whitexgodess


	3. Chapter 3

[**Flowers for a Ghost**]

It had been six days since the painting fiasco. The brushes had been dried, the windows had been shut; Tope had taken over the walls and the red had disappeared, a mild defeat for an epic battle.

Sakura, unfortunately, was not as strong.

_Cough! Cough!_

Each horrid lung-racked noise shook her body as she leaned over the sink in her bathroom, Sasuke's body holding hers up as she forced the fluid of life from her throat. It escaped her nose as well and the last tissue had been overused ten minutes ago.

Her hands gripped the counter with such force it could have snapped, but Sakura was no longer in any position to break anything but herself. Sasuke watched in agony, hating that he couldn't carry this burden for her, that she spent half of her life hanging onto her counter and coughing what was left of her blood into her bathroom sink.

But he had spent half of his life holding her high enough to reach that bathroom sink.

When she finally calmed they sunk to the floor in a heap of tears and blood while the yellow duck decoration witnessed everything from his perch on her counter.

…

It's the fifteenth of December and Sakura finds no point in leaving her room. Her shoulders were too heavy for her to heave and her knees had magically turned into her favorite flavor of jello: cherry. She had sent Sasuke home last night as well, leaving the wake of her morning hollow and silent. She thought it was about time he visited his real family. He spent too much time away from them and off on some imaginative adventure with her.

The neon block letters on her night-standing clock read 6:04 AM, but she was neither weary nor tired. Her fingers nimbly ruffled over her pages of memories; from summers in bikinis to winters wishing away the cold. Pearly white teeth and over-used peace signs shouted to her from the past and brought forth a deep sense of longing to a time before this wretched disease; before chemo, wig fittings, and sketching her own eyebrows.

She could faintly hear her parents preparing themselves for work on the other side of the house. They never bothered to check on her in the mornings, too afraid to disrupt her slumber. Though she neglected to tell them that she hadn't been getting much sleep lately and it was no use walking on eggshells around her when she knew perfectly well why she was faltering and why she felt so weak as of late. Their worry never fitted her right, never sat well atop her perfect pink-haired head.

As she set aside her memories and lied down beneath her comforter her mind drifted and wandered, listening intently to her heart and how it no longer pulsated; rather, instead she could vaguely hear a ticking sound. Like a clock counting down the remaining minutes, hours, and days of her life. She was sure no one else could hear it; just her. What was once a strong muscle was now a mess of cogs and knobs that worked together to warn her of the time in which she will end.

And it wasn't far from eliminating her altogether.

…

_Dear Sakura,  
So I hear you hav-_ACK!

The fifth crumbled up ball of paper made its way onto Kakashi's hard wood floor. His head was imploding and his fingers ruthlessly rubbed at his temples; the complications of a supposed simplistic letter were hitting him harder than he expected.

_Sigh_. Again, he persistently picked up his blue-inked pen and scribbled hastily once more.

_Dear Sakura,  
How are you?-_ERR!

His routine continued for twenty-seven minutes following his first attempt. He would start writing, halt, snarl, and throw the wretched paper away. Upon reaching his nineteenth attempt and his second pen an idea struck him; seems the withered and dusty bulb inside his mind _did _work.

…

"Ino, darling, please take these flowers to the Haruno's house." The blonde froze mid sweep, stepping over the shredded, and unfortunately dead, pink petals on the chilly tiled floor. After hearing her mother's demand, her mind immediately thought the worst.

"W-why? What happened? Why am I taking flowers to Sakura's!"

"Oi, shh, calm down sweetie." Her Aphrodite of a mother fiddled with the lilies in the make shift vase as she plopped a few balloons in, barely giving her words a second thought. "I just want you to take them over there for her, I hear she hasn't been doing very well lately and I thought it'd be nice to send her something s-Ino? Ino!"

Her daughter had already collapsed in a mess of tears on the dirt-tainted floor.

…

_Knock. Knock._

"Sakura? Honey, you h-Sakura!"

Haruno-san never particularly enjoyed the sight of blood. It made her queasy and weak in the knees, but seeing her daughter, shriveled and shaking on the ground, with that dark splash of red running down her arm, onto her legs, and settling into the carpet; she felt a sudden surge of motherly instincts.

"Mom-" her pink tresses fell against her skin, matted by her tears, "—Mom, I didn't mean to do it!" The magazine clippings fluttered to the floor soundlessly while Sakura's sobs shook the sanity of everything. "It was an accident!" Something akin to fear heightened in her eyes and her hands shook with such intensity that the scissors dropped to the floor with a nearly silent _thud_.

Her mother reached for the medical kit in the far left corner of the room and went right to work bandaging her daughter's forearm. There was no time for hesitation or panic and with speed she hadn't known she possessed Haruno-san cleaned and dressed the wound to the utmost perfection.

She never did like the sight of blood, though; she liked the feel of her daughter's tears and shaking body much less.

…

"One strawberry-banana smoothie, please." Sasuke mentally cursed Sakura for making him so mannerly.

"Are you sure, sir? I mean, it _is _23 degrees ou—"

"Oi! Would he have ordered it if he didn't want it? And aren't you supposed to _encourage _sales?" The knuckle-headed blonde leaned over the counter, accidentally elbowing Sasuke in the process. "Now get him a damn strawberry-banana smoothie!"

"I'm sorry, right away, sir!"

Naruto chuckled lightly as the trainee ran off to retrieve the treat; Sasuke was indifferent to it all. He wanted out of the establishment as soon as possible.

"That'll be two dollars and forty-three cents."

"Hn." Sasuke, not so delicately, tossed his earnings and bolted out of the ice cream shop in an instant. Naruto trudging along after him.

"Say Teme—"

"Hn?"

"Seeing as it's already December, what kind of schools were you thinking about going to?" As Sasuke quirked an eyebrow Naruto felt the need to explain more. "I mean, I know you're gonna run your big-corporate-Uchiha company but, when will you start working for that?"

_Sigh_. "I don't know."

"I'm going to that big University in Okinawa with Hinata, I figured I should go into business or something, maybe successfully run my own Ramen stand!" His lack of memory and his over-exuberant attitude didn't surprise Sasuke one bit.

"Hn."

"Ino said she's just gonna learn from her parents and run that flower shop." He scratched his head lightly before continuing. "But then she said that she and Shikamaru are gonna go to that Community College downtown just to get some knowledge in."

"Hn." Why he was discussing this was beyond Sasuke, but the youngest Uchiha felt no need to stop his ranting. Once past the obnoxiousness of Naruto's exterior, he wasn't a bad conversationalist.

"Oh, what about Sakura?" Naruto could sense the stiffness in his acclaimed best friend as he mentioned her. "Doesn't she want to be a doctor or something?"

"Hn."

"Do you know _when _she'sgonna s—"

"No, Naruto, now stop asking ridiculous questions."

"But, Teme-"

"I said—"

"Are you waiting until she gets better?"

Uchiha halted in his movement altogether while Uzumaki was already stiff not four feet behind and just like that the seams of the topic had been ripped open.

"Are you putting your whole life on hold because Sakura-chan is sick?" He did not wait for an answer to continue. "Look, I know you don't want to think about it, but there is a chance that she won't get be-" _WHAM!_

Naruto had never caught the side of a building with his right cheek before, and he didn't plan to do it again.

Sasuke stood inhumanly still, hovering over the now-bloody-nosed blonde sinking down to the snow covered ground. His knuckles were fiercely red while Naruto's cheek was experiencing the same change of color.

"_Don't-you-dare_." Naruto shut his mouth, staring intently at Sasuke's black casual shoes. "I don't _ever _want to hear _anything _like that come out of your mouth again. Do you understand me?" He numbly nodded, instantly regretting ever releasing that thought.

Even as Sasuke turned to pick up his chosen's smoothie and continue down the sidewalk at a breakneck pace Naruto stayed put and allowed the falling snow to build up and eventually bury him in his regrets.

_I'm sorry, Saukra-chan._

…

"Sasuke-kun?" Her voice was hoarse and he didn't like the sound of it.

"Shh, I brought you a smoothie." He settled himself on the side of her bed after setting her drink down and gingerly rubbing his hands against the skin of her arms. She smiled and sighed contently before closing her eyes again.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

"It was nothing." His eyes trailed over her blanket-covered figure, catching sight of the red-tinted gauze wrapped tightly around her arm.

Sakura's emerald orbs opened at the feel of Sasuke's lips grazing her right wrist, she watched in awe as he littered her skin with light kisses all the way up to her wound. He didn't dare question her about it; he just wanted to make amends for being absent when it happened.

For even Sasuke was accustomed to open wounds.

"You look tired." Sakura gently commented.

"No I don't."

At this she giggled, and he noticed that what had once sounded so carefree and weightless now sounded like an anchor chained at the bottom of her lungs. "Lay with me, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn, let me change these wrappings first." He lifted her arm and she mutely nodded.

…

_DING!_

"Oi! I'll be right with you!" Ino rummaged around with a few more vases before selecting a popular purple polka dotted one and dashing out to the front of the store, an instant customer-only smile at her lips. "Welcome to the Yamanak-" upon seeing her company her pearly whites disappeared as her smile quickly dripped off her lips, "I have nothing to say to you."

"C'mon Ino, I just want to make it up to her—"

"For which part, Uzumaki? Completely abandoning all hope for the girl we _all _have proven to care immensely about or for blurting it out to her boyfriend?" She turned away from him and with the skills of an honest florist began to assemble a pre-ordered bouquet.

"For all of it, for everything."

"Hmph, that doesn't make up for what you said, Naruto, now if you'll excuse me I have much more productive things to do than listen to filth express it's regrets."

"But—

"I _said _I have nothing to—"

His naturally tanned hand grabbed her own; forcing her roses to fall and silencing her harsh commands yet signaling her snarling glare.

"I'm sorry Ino! You know how much faith and prayers and tears I've put into that girl, and you _know _I want nothing more in this world than for her to recover, I just-it slipped out and I didn't-I don't-"

_Sigh. _"You have no clue, do you?"

"Eh?"

"Naruto, we all know deep down that there is a chance she won't make it."

A deafening silence engulfed them both. The busy sidewalk outside was a mere fly on the wind shield compared to the pain their hearts were submersed in.

"But Ino—"

"Just shut up, will you? Let me finish." She sighed and continued to fixate her hand's attention on the bouquet, like a musician with an instrument she wove a silk ribbon through the stems and kept her eyes focused on her work; anything to obtain herself from crying. "Sakura even knows; she knows the most out of all of us. Kami knows she won't admit it, but she knows. Her mother and father as well, Naruto, even Sasuke." Another silky ribbon was pulled though the urethral green of the stems and Naruto's cerulean blue orbs couldn't look away. "We just-we just don't open our mouths to say so!"

He looked up to her at the sudden outburst, barely phased after witnessing the beauty of her creation. "Do you understand now? If we dare to allow her to know this she will give up, do you know what that means?"

"No, Ino, I don-"

"She'll stop trying," her hands moved quicker, the ribbon tearing in her haste, "she'll give up and die and she'll wither away on that corner lot in the cemetery," she snipped at the loose ends of a few flowers, clenching her hands within the grip of the scissors, "and we'll bring her flowers every year on her birthday and we'll all cry together and hold each other and realize that not _one _day goes by without us thinking that we could have done so much more to save her!" He watched lifelessly as she tossed away her ribbons and tools and slammed her open palms against the thorn-filled counter. "Don't you get it? Don't you understand?"

A frown etched itself onto his lips as he watched the water fall from her beautiful baby blue eyes; she was silent and he was motionless, but all of that seemed to disappear when they collapsed to the floor in pure exhaustion and regret.

…

"Sakura Haruno?"

Sasuke set aside his time-dwindling reading material and lifted off the stiff waiting room chair to grab Sakura's hand, pulling her up as well.

"Room twelve darling, it's just around that corner. It'll be the last door on your left." A sickeningly sweet smile etched itself into the nurses cheeks as she spoke, barely fazed as she monitored a breed of dying people. "I'll be with you in just a minute!"

Sasuke lightly pulled Sakura along the hallway, slightly slowing the pace to keep an eye on her as she watched her shoes leave miniscule prints in the carpet.

Check-ups were not her favorite.

"C'mon Sakura, it won't take too long."

"It's not the length of the appointment that worries me."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in to plant a subtle kiss to her forehead, calming her nerves just to keep her from stopping in her tracks and running out the door.

"Thanks for coming with me, Sasuke-kun."

"Aa."

…

_BR—ING!_

_BR—ING!_

_BR—I—_

"Haruno residence."

From the side of the door frame Sakura's father watched his wife's brows furrow away in the light of the shell-decorated lamp on her left while her right hand clenched the bottom of her shirt in frustration or anxiety, he couldn't tell.

"You're sure? There's no other alternative?"

At this he stood straight and leaned away from the threshold to catch who exactly was on the other end of the line, no doubt it had something to do with his dying little girl.

"Aa, thank you, Dr. Tsunade, we'll be in to see you next week. H-hopefully for the last time."

Papa Haruno barely had time to catch the phone before it smashed against the hard wood floor while his wife fell to her knees shaking with sobs. And though he awaited the storm of her tears to pass before he asked, he knew it would be nothing short of terrible news.

…

"Sakura Haruno! Good to see you, dear." The white-haired physician smiled his best as he entered room twelve and unfortunately his pearly whites were not at all reflected by the seldom teens sitting atop his examination table. But he moved on with a practiced grace as if the awkwardness failed to exist.

"How are you, doctor?"

"Oh, I'm fine darlin', and how about yourself?"

She snorted indecently and squeezed Sasuke's hand a little tighter. "I've been better."

A hearty chuckle resounded in the room, a deafening slap in the face.

"You're still so full of life, Sakura Haruno." As he closed her file in his hands he poked her nose and smiled. "I love all life, Sakura, I absolutely love it. And I want you to enjoy yours, you see, which is why I contacted the head of all Cancer related studies at that hospital down the street. Her name is Dr. Tsunade, have you met her before?"

"A few times, yes."

"Good, because she's going to be performing your bone marrow transplant."

Sakura instantly let go of Sasuke's hand.

…

_Drop._

_Drip._

_Drip._

_Drop._

Naruto watched his kitchen faucet leak with mid-range dulling eyes, red from a sleepless night, irritated by his constant rubbing, tired beyond belief because he hadn't allowed himself to close them until he resounded with an award winning idea for his best friend.

So far he had nothing.

"Naruto-kun?"

He jumped at the sudden intrusion but looked towards Hinata nonetheless and offered his best attempt at a smile. She bluntly noticed his lack of color.

"What are you doing Naruto-kun?" Steering past the threshold to his apartment, she dropped her bag on the counter and bent down to grab his right arm and hoist him up.

"Aa, nothing. Say, Hinata-chan, where were you?"

"I was volunteering at the hospital, remember?" With her hand she quickly felt his face, searching for a fever, pneumonia, even a cold; anything to decipher his sudden delirium. "I was working with Dr. Tsunade today."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun. Would you like to hear what she told me?"

Once standing his smile was much easier to express, a lazy grin made its way to his lips as he leaned on Hinata and stared at her lips, barely listening, barely conscious, barely alive.

"She told me she would be performing a bone marrow transplant on Saku-NARUTO-KUN!"

He fell to the floor with a noisy _THUD!_

…

It was 10:39 on a Saturday night when Ten Ten's cell phone erupted. Her usual cheery 'Hiya' was cut short by the ever-present sobbing on the other end. "Uh-hello?"

"Ten Ten, it's Shikamaru, you better get over here."

As the weapon-loving, bun-wielding girl crunched her way through the snow, she realized that she had technically only been to the Nara household once. It was in middle school when Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru, and herself had an extensive World History project to work on, and even then she hadn't really paid attention to the actual house. All she could remember was the bitter stench of smoke and the lazy gray tone of the walls.

Seeing it now presented no difference. The lights inside were oddly dimmed and unexpected for 11:03 on a Saturday night. She halted momentarily to eye the structure. Red panels on a beige-bricked home.

Ten Ten had barely wiped her feet on the 'Welcome' mat when the door was unlocked and swiftly opened.

"Finally, tch, no need to hurry, I already calmed her down."

"First of all, _excuse me _for not owning a car. And second, _her_?"

He jerked his head to the right and moved aside to let her in. The immediate glow of warmth would have her stuck in her tracks had it not been for the blue-eyed, beautiful blonde on Nara's couch. As expected, she was dozing off and cuddled up against the side of the couch with an old white quilt draped over her body.

"She came over an hour ago, crying and weeping and hysterical." Shikamaru made his way to the loveseat as he spoke, keeping his eyes on the muted television as he sat down next to the battered girl. "Something about Sakura."

Ten Ten was almost surprised when Ino turned and cuddled into the Nara bastard instead, and she barely caught her jaw when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Staying far away from awkwardness, the brunette sat on the shagged up carpet. Her fingers played with the ends of the navy flooring as she carefully took in the details of the situation.

"What was Ino so upset about, Shikamaru? This had to be something new." The words 'something terrible' went unsaid.

"Sakura's getting a bone marrow transplant, and Ino's going to donate it to her."

…

The usual group of friends did not see Sasuke or Sakura until December 27th. Naruto hadn't bothered searching for her and her forgiveness. His previous three attempts ended in his tears or his own puke. While Hinata stayed by his side she also had her volunteer duties and despite what she tells Naruto every night after her shift, she spends as much time as she can in the Cancer Patient ward. Ino wasn't ready to tell Sakura of what she had done. The cherry blossom never did desire their help or their concern, whether it was pride or fear she could not tell. Ten Ten and Shikamaru were too busy keeping Konoha's blue-eyed princess at ease above keeping Sakura company. The girl was a ticking time bomb; a catastrophe of tears and self-hating rants. Neither quite understood why.

On the night of the Hyuuga's nineteenth birthday, everyone had planned to gather at the Uzumaki household. It was almost surprising that Naruto had actually cleaned up the place. Discarded instant ramen cups no longer littered the floor and free-range porn no longer lingered on the walls; almost as surprising as Ino's lavender sweater, or Neji's tucked-away bottle of champagne, or Hinata's elegant sapphire earrings, or Sakura's lack of color.

Sasuke watched her from afar. That's the only way he could see her now, as if she were floating to a distant land and he was stuck on the sun-stroked shore watching. All he could do was helplessly watch.

The rosy pink hue that usually accompanied her cheeks had vanished, her eyelids looked too heavy considering how often she would close them, and her hands would shake delicately every time she reached for her glass of 100% pure orange juice. And whenever she happened to excuse herself in a hurry Ten Ten or Ino would reluctantly follow and hold back her hair as she wheezed, coughed, and puked into the bathroom sink.

But she dared not to leave, sleep, or even lightly rest. It was Hinata's nineteenth birthday and she would be in attendance.

"_I won't let this __**thing **__destroy the one relationship I have with the people I love, Sasuke-kun."_

"Dinner's ready!" Naruto sprang from the Kitchen door and Hinata followed along in her tall, black heels. Her smile could light up the darkest of days.

Ten Ten grabbed Neji's hand who yanked Ino's ponytail who then shoved Shikamaru before he could grab Sasuke's tie who wrapped his arm around Sakura and dragged her into the dining room while a bout of laughter was left behind in their presence.

"How, pray tell _how _did you make all of this look _so _good and _not _burn down the house?" Ten Ten hollered before shoving a spoonful of rice into her mouth while Neji looked at her like the ungrateful horse she was behaving as.

Naruto stuck his tongue out and wrapped his arm around 'his woman', as he referred to Hinata. "First of all: Jiraiya would murder me with a pen if I burned this place down, and second of all: it's called _The Power of Love _Ten Ten-banshee, give it a try would you?" Too far gone was his remark as Ten Ten was ignoring him for the food.

Ino exploded into a trio of excitement, awe, and wonder. She complimented the thankfully black-suited knucklehead on how well he glazed the turkey or how the sushi was 'just the right touch' and even admired his sense of decorating with Lilies and Lilacs.

The Nara shrugged and rubbed his hands together in anticipation to reach the cheesecake fresh from the freezer.

Sasuke could care less about the food. He was still furious with Naruto and he was starting to worry about the pinkette shrugging out of consciousness next to him. He watched her movements, studied them even and he knew she was nowhere near well enough to be present. It was the way her right eye would twitch every time a noisy _CLANG _would echo from a fork and a dish, or the way she would slowly start to drift off against his shoulder and jolt awake five seconds later as if nothing had happened at all. Her fingers fiddled with the ends of her wine red dress and her smile kept slipping off her lips and down into the pile of things she had been faking for the sake of the evening.

She never did like the attention of others. Not the pity nor the fret nor the worry. She had told him time and time again.

"Sakura." He reached out to her other side and rested his hand against her waist, guiding her swaying body to his own.

"Hmmmm?" She was melting to him like a piece of sugar-coated chocolate.

"Let me take you home, you need to rest." He whispered, but she immediately shook away from his hold and leaned against the edge of the table, shaking her head with her eyes closed.

"No, Sasuke-kun. I don't want to go home, I'm not ready to go home, and I'm having fun so let's stay awhile longer." Her tone was nothing but persistent despite her slightly slurred words.

A long sigh escaped him at her determination; she was like a military fort.

"Sakura—"

"I said _no_ Sasuke-kun." At this she peeled her eyes open and squinted at the sharp light, but kept her watery gaze on him nonetheless. "Look at how much fun everyone's having." She lifted her hand and pointed down towards the end of the table. Naruto was threatening to sling a spoonful of gravy at Neji while Hinata was covering her mouth in barely contained giddiness. Ten Ten was covering her boyfriend's body with her own, dramatizing the situation for pure fun while Neji was as blank as ever, except for the glare he was shooting Naruto. Ino was half buzzed on the bottle of champagne she stole from Neji's side of the table and Shikamaru was trying to get in on some as well. Both of them were laughing hysterically. "Do you know how much it hurts to take that away from them?"

Sasuke's onyx gaze was directed back to her as she spoke. A faraway look was in her eyes as she watched them have the time of their lives.

"It's like no one can have fun around me unless I'm having fun too. You know, Sasuke-kun, I've been this way for a long time and I'm really sick of being everyone's ultimate mood-of-the-day decision." She shut off her emerald beauties from the world again, pressing her forehead against his shoulder instead. "I just don't want to end this great moment with a nosebleed or a coughing fit. I don't want to be the reason people are sad, Sasuke-kun." He lifted his hand to stroke her back tenderly and awaited the rest of what she had to say, knowing full well that she had a long way to go. "And besides, I should spend as much time as I can with all of you, seeing as I won't be around for lo—"

"Stop that. You know I don't like when you talk like that, Sakura."

"Heh, I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun." She opted for wrapping her arms around his stomach to calm him down, listening to the steady beat of his heart while he kissed the top of her head; another way to tell her that she was forgiven.

…

"Bye guys!" Naruto's tanned palm could be seen from across the street as his guests vacated his home and into their cars. Hinata cowered behind him, practically berating him for leaving the door open for so long.

Ino wobbled next to Shikamaru who was trying his best to be patient with her. The bottle of champagne she downed an hour ago was long forgotten. Ten Ten crunched through the snow, giggling like some school girl while ignoring Neji's pleas to kindly _'get out of there and wipe your dirty feet before you go anywhere near my car'_. Sasuke had his arm hooked through Sakura's as he watched her slowly step towards the street, barely aware of where she was headed.

"Don't slip."

"I won't Sasuke-kun."

"I won't catch you if you do."

"Yes you will."

His grip tightened considerably before he muttered a barely audible 'Hn'.

"Don't worry, Sasuke-kun, I'm not going anywhere." He would have believed her had she held the strength to lift her heavy gaze off the salted cement.

They reached his car just as Hinata ushered Naruto into the house, closing the door with a reasonable _THUD. _Sasuke opened the door for his beloved and closed in just enough time to catch her turning away to doze off. Despite the hour running well into midnight, Sasuke thought it best to take a longer route to the Haruno household. Whether it was for the lingering moments he wished to spend with the girl or the underlying fact that she looked so peaceful curled up against his leather passenger seat.

He didn't arrive at her home until 12:47.

"Sakura," he whispered, "C'mon Sakura, I have to take you inside."

He received no answer.

"Sakura." He was a bit more forceful this time, shaking her arm and hoisting her up off the seat. "Sakura, wake up."

"Hmm? S-Sas-OW!" His eyes widened to an immeasurable size when she gripped her head in her hands and winced from something he could not see nor stop.

"Sakura! Sakura, what's wrong?"

She shook her head back and forth quickly, blood dripping relentlessly from her nose as she tried to escape her own delirium.

"It hurts Sasuke-kun! Please make it stop." She pleased as her grip grew tighter, the strength she had been missing for the evening had suddenly returned just so she could squeeze her head hard enough to pop; her knuckles turning white in the paleness of the moonlight, her knees closing in on herself temporarily attempting to shut herself off from the world around her. "Please, Sasuke-kun! Please!"

Sasuke, barely through with panicking, turned towards the road and slammed his foot on the gas. Taking off to the hospital at 12:58 on a Saturday night in hopes that the girl beside him would be okay, that she would greet him with a smile any minute now and pretend like this whole incident never happened, that she would stop screaming and her blood would stop sinking into his leather seats.

...

Welp, I'm an inconsiderate asshole.  
Actually, to be quite honest, I was completely stuck in a rutt with this particular story.  
Everything I wrote fantastically turned to unacceptable shit the next day.  
& I refused to allow you all to read it.  
Do excuse my language.

ANYWHO!  
If I've planned this correctly, there is roughly one chapter left.  
& to all of you that have stuck with me this far:  
**pinkypinkypinky **& **mednin **& **pockybandits89 **& **C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only **& **Untamed-Wolf-Warrioress **& **Stories Of An Ordinary Girl **& **youbrokeapromise **& **angelface714 **& **MYinnerNINJA **& **sky's traffic  
**You guys ROCK.  
Thank you SO much for taking the time to review.  
You fanfiction beauties, you XP

[& to youbrokeapromise, I apologize, Fanfiction wouldn't show your name with the periods between the words]

Untill next time.  
whitexgodess


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